Evaluating the Effectiveness of Picture-Based Agricultural Extension Lessons Developed Using Participatory Testing and Editing with Smallholder Women Farmers in Nepal

Rachana Devkota, Helen Hambly Odame, John Fitzsimons, Roshan Pudasaini and Manish N. Raizada
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Rachana Devkota: School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Helen Hambly Odame: School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
John Fitzsimons: School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Roshan Pudasaini: Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD), Pokhara P.O. Box 324, Nepal
Manish N. Raizada: Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-27

Abstract: Printed pictures are traditional forms of agricultural extension for smallholder farmers. They receive historical academic criticism but remain inexpensive, do not require technical skills (unlike smartphones), and bypass language/literacy barriers. Here, a comprehensive participatory pipeline is described that included 56 Nepalese women farmer editors to develop 100 picture-based lessons. Thereafter, the Theory of Planned Behavior is used as a framework to evaluate 20 diverse lessons using quantitative and qualitative data (Nvivo-11) collected from four groups, focusing on low-literacy women: the women farmer editors ( n = 56); smallholder field testers who had prior exposure to extension agents and the actual innovations (control group, n = 120), and those who did not (test group, n = 60); expert stakeholders (extension agents/scientists, n = 25). The expected comprehension difference between farmer groups was non-substantive, suggesting that the participatory editing/testing approaches were effective. There were surprising findings compared to the academic literature: smallholders comprehended the pictures without the help of extension agents, perhaps because of the participatory approaches used; children assisted their mothers to understand caption-based lessons; the farmers preferred printed pictures compared to advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs); and the resource-poor farmers were willing to pay for the printed materials, sufficient to make them cost-neutral/scalable. These findings have implications for smallholder farmers beyond Nepal.

Keywords: theory of planned behavior; picture lessons; sustainable agriculture kits; agricultural extension; hillside women farmers; Nepal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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